Third grade is now complete and Jonah is headed into fourth, but there are many of us parents from Jonah’s second grade class who remain in awe of what a great experience our kids had (way back) in the second grade. They had a teacher who built a community, not just a class. They sang and did movement each morning together, on Fridays they recapped their weeks and talked about things they appreciated about the week and each other, they had dance parties, they talked about inclusivity, they held publishing parties whenever they finished a writing unit, and along the way, whether the kids realized it or not, they learned an astonishing amount –both academically and social/emotionally. A small group of us took her out recently to express our ongoing gratitude and to keep her in our lives.

About 4-5 months ago Jonah started having visual episodes where items in his vision changed size abnormally and unexpectedly. The episodes didn’t last long, but when they happened they were scary, upsetting, and unsettling for him. Eventually we saw the pediatrician who sent us to an ophthalmologist. Jonah’s eyes checked out healthy. He then sent us for an epilepsy test. Jonah tested negative for epilepsy. The test was a killer though — he’s only allowed 5 hours of sleep the night before, then we had to send him to school where he had a performance, we then picked him up for an exam where they flash strobe lights on him, and eventually wait for him to sleep so they can monitor brain activity in a variety of states. Last-up, he had an MRI (which they do for kids at 6:30 am!) — an hour in a closed MRI machine head first. The kid was a total mensch about all of this — cooperative and brave. He seemed thankful we were all attending to this thing that was so scary to him.

In the end we’ve learned that Jonah has a condition called Alice In Wonderland Syndrome. The neurologist said to think of it as a visual migraine. He is a-typical in that there isn’t some clear trigger (fever, sleep deprivation, bad diet, etc). It is very typical to have this start around 8 or 9 years old, and it is likely that it will disappear forever at some point in his teens.

About 8 months ago Lilah started preparing daily gifts for one of her teachers. Each morning she draws on paper, folds it up, tapes it up, occasionally asks us to add the teacher’s name, her own name, or both. Sometimes they’re adorned with stickers.

Occasionally we are the recipients of gifts prepared at school, but that is less consistent.

This has become so important to Lilah that on days when we’re running late she’s become adept at preparing the present from her car seat, with a quick assist on the taping once we arrive.

The preschool teachers, bless them, feign complete excitement daily, express gratitude, and promise to save each one in their cubbies.

We offered a party at Jonah’s school auction–a 7-course beer tasting modeled after one we attended last year. Last weekend we hosted 18 here for the event. The beer and the pairings were delicious, but the group who bought into the party and joined us was the secret sauce–a great group and a fun and yummy night.

When we moved-in the house had a small lawn and some lollipop-type rose bushes in the front. We gave away the roses and let the lawn go in the drought. After which, we fondly referred to our small front and back spaces as dirt pits. We finally did something about it…

WHEN WE FIRST MOVED IN

And here is the yard after the drought. All we did in that intervening time is remove the rose bushes in front, remove an old tree in back, and let things get pretty overgrown and unwieldy.